Thursday, 25 September 2008

Unlike many veggies which are available all year round, broad beans have a distinct season. They appear in the markets from winter into spring, and then they’re gone until next year. Of course one can find dried and frozen broad beans anytime, BUT IT”S JUST NOT THE SAME! I have to part with my lovely broad beans soon. Therefore, for the September My Legume Love Affair event, created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted this month by Lucy of Nourish Me, I present to you these lovely Broad Beans, 3 Recipes that accentuate all their goodness, and a Poem.

Broad beans are also known as field, winter, tick, horse, English, Windsor, faba or fava beans. Bean Beans are among the oldest cultivated crops a legume, it is a distant cousin to the garden snap bean. Like all legumes, broad beans are rich in protein, iron, zinc and fibre.

Playing with food is fun!

CHOOSING

Select the smallest broad-bean pods you can find or, if you have a garden supply, pick the smallest ones first to eat whole and then the larger ones later to eat shelled. Go for bright perky-looking beans and avoid any that appear tired or floppy.

Big...medium...small

PREPARING

Preparing broad beans is a labour of love. It’s fiddly but easy. Put on your iPod, MP3 player, CD. Then, remove the beans from the shell. Next, to make it easier to peel away the tougher outer skin, blanch the beans in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds - bring a pan of water to the boil, toss in the beans, and let the water come to the boil again, which usually takes about 30 seconds. This loosens the outer skin on the broad beans, which can easily slip off. The bean is now "double peeled".

(Sources: Steve Manfredi, Burkes Backyard)

3 POSH BROAD BEANS ON TOAST RECIPES

from Two Aussie cooks Maggie Beer and Bill Granger, and Jamie Oliver. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of these dishes because these beans never made it to the bread this time round because I was popping them in my mouth like popcorn! I love all three recipes because it brings out the best of fresh broad beans so do try them. If you really have to, frozen broad beans can be substituted.

Serves 4. Maggie sorts large pods and small pods into different piles before peeling, and where possible uses the smaller ones. Blanch the broad beans in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes and refresh in cold water immediately. Heat a grill pan until hot, brush the slices of sourdough with a little olive oil and grill until well toasted on each side.

Add a little more evoo to the beans. Mix with mint and a little more evoo as needed. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Spoon onto the grilled bruschetta and serve with shavings of pecorino and an extra drizzle of evoo.

Blanch the broad beans in a saucepan of lightly boiling water for 2-3 minutes or until just tender. Rinse under cold running water and drain well. Peel outer skins.

Place broad beans, olive oil, feta, lemon juice and garlic in a blender or food processor and process until a rough paste. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add mint and pulse for a few seconds until just combined.

Incredible smashed peas and broad beans on toastfrom Jamie at Home

Jamie warns: “Don’t use frozen peas and broad beans for this because it sort of misses the point. Made with raw peas and sweet fresh broad beans, the whole thing will taste alive and just like summer.”

Serves 4. Pod the peas and broad beans, keeping them separate. Put any really small ones to one side to use in the salad.

This next bit is best done in a pestle and mortar, in batches if necessary. (You can pulse it in a food processor instead, but you won’t end up with the lovely bashed and bruised flavour that makes this dish incredible.) Bash up half the mint leaves with the peas and a pinch of salt. Add the broad beans a few at a time and crush to a thick green paste.

Mash in a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to make the paste spreadable. Stir in the pecorino. If the mixture is a bit stiff, add a little more oil to loosen it. Add about three-quarters of the lemon juice – this will bring it all together. Have a taste and see what you think. You want the richness of the pecorino and the oil to balance nicely with the freshness of the peas, beans and mint. Adjust seasoning if needed.

Toast the bread on both sides, either on a barbecue or in a hot griddle pan. Rub each slice twice only (very important) with the cut side of the garlic and top with some smashed peas and half a ball of mozzarella.

Dress the pea shoots, the remaining mint leaves and the reserved small peas and beans with the rest of the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and scatter this salad over the crostini. Finish with a little more olive oil and a grating of pecorino.

Monday, 1 September 2008

Today is the first day of Spring down under. I knew that spring was coming because I could her the "tweet! tweet! tweet!" from the baby and mommy birds at dawn....and when my lavender bush started to flower for the first time a few weeks ago. Quikong planted this lavender bush many months ago as a surprise because he knew that lavender is my favourite essential oil. I love rolling the fresh flowers between my palms and breathing in its soothing aroma. Even the leaves and stems of the lavender has a fragrance.

After an exhausting but rewarding pre-spring cleaning weekend, I thought that these Lavender Shortbreads were the perfect way to welcome spring. Although Quikong was initially apprehensive about consuming lavender, even he was surprised how delicious these were.

I used this Lavender Shortbread recipe from Jen of Milk & Cookies (thanks, Jen!!) who adapted it from this award winning matcha (green tea) shortbread recipe. The result was as Jen promised - "blissful buttery texture that melts in your mouth....aromatic sweetness". It also keeps its shape perfectly (great for more elaborate shapes if you wish) and is simple to make.

Kitchen Notes:- I didn't coat the cookies in granulated sugar before baking.- Make sure that you use lavender specifically for baking. The ones for potpourri usually has chemicals added into them.- Vary the strength of the lavender aroma:(a) Stronger: For a stronger lavender flavour without adding more dried lavender - crush the lavender in a mortar and pestle and let the aroma infuse over night by mixing the crushed flower into the sugar.(b) More subtle: Omit the dried lavender. Instead, roll a few whole fresh lavender stems between your palms and place it in the sugar overnight. Remove the lavender before using the sugar in the recipe.

I think these shortbreads are rather elegant and make great gifts. Since the recipe uses dried lavender, you do not have to wait for spring to make these shortbread.

To our Muslim readers: Wishing you all a blessed month of Ramadan. These shortbreads and a cup of tea could be a sweet way to break a day of fasting. :-)

About Me

For the love of food

... looking, thinking, reading, researching, smelling, creating, discussing, tasting, sharing & dreaming about food.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~Many years ago, I moved to Sydney from a tiny island near the equator. It is no secret that I am obsessed about food. My Aussie husband ("Quikong") claims that he doesn't really care about food. In reality, he is actually a gourmand-in-denial & my harshest critic. Therefore, I've made him the official taster of the recipes I will post.